Mad Statists

The Type of Man Who Wants You Disarmed

"A lawmaker brandished an AK-47 on the floor of the House of Delegates in a wild stunt aimed at rallying support for tougher gun laws. Del. Joe Morrissey, D-Highland Springs, pulled the weapon out shortly after the day's session got underway. Morrissey was disbarred and lost his law license in 2003 after attacking a man — beating him with a large ring around his finger. According to legal brief filed on behalf of the victim, Morrissey shouted, 'I’m going to kill you. I’m going to beat your head in,' and then attempted to make good on his promise. When the man attempted to escape his beating, Morrissey 'smashed his head into the corner of a brick wall.'" Continue reading →

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Armed protesters rally at Washington State Capitol

"A group of protesters brandished their guns at the Washington State Capitol on Saturday to defend their right to bear arms. The event was organized by the group 2nd Enforcers, which warned many of the 30 gun-related bills to be considered by the state legislature were a threat to people’s Second Amendment rights. The bills would expand background checks to cover all gun purchases in the state, make leaving a loaded gun in a location accessible to children a crime of reckless endangerment, allow cities to prohibit guns at parks or recreational facilities, and ban guns from school campuses, among other things." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArmed protesters rally at Washington State Capitol

French and Italian debt chiefs warn on EU Tobin Tax

"The proposal - now in the hands of working groups - is to come into force in early 2014. It will raise a fee of 0.1pc for shares and bonds, and 0.01pc for derivatives. These rates are far higher than the Swedish tax in 1989 that led to an 85pc crash in bond sales, a 98pc fall in bond futures, and shut-down of options trading, before the experiment was abandoned. The Chancellor, George Osborne, said the FTT scheme would amount to a tax on pensioners and cost up to 1m jobs across the EU 'without costing bankers a penny'. The traders would migrate to the US or Asia, taking the financial industry with them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench and Italian debt chiefs warn on EU Tobin Tax

‘Troika’ offers Cyprus bailout in exchange for tax hikes

"Cyprus needs up to 17 billion euros - almost as much as its annual gross domestic product - in emergency loans, mostly to recapitalise its oversized banking sector, hit by a Greek debt restructuring, but also to service debt and government expenses. The capital gains tax could be introduced only temporarily, for three years, and provide the government with an extra revenue of 200-300 million euros. The nominal corporate tax, which now stands at 10 percent, could be raised to 12.5 percent. The introduction of the financial transaction tax would be set at 0.01 percent of the value of trades for derivatives and 0.1 percent for stocks and bonds." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Troika’ offers Cyprus bailout in exchange for tax hikes

McCain calls Paul, Cruz, Amash ‘wacko birds’ after CIA director filibuster

"Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is continuing to criticize his fellow Republicans for their filibuster of incoming CIA Director John O. Brennan over drone policy. In an interview with the Huffington Post, McCain referred to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) as 'wackos.' McCain and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) took strong exception to the filibuster, saying they support the possible use of drones to prevent terrorist attacks anywhere in the world. Some Republicans have privately worried that the high-profile stand, while garnering a lot of positive attention, will ultimately be bad for the party." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMcCain calls Paul, Cruz, Amash ‘wacko birds’ after CIA director filibuster

At BoE, Mark Carney could be handed powers to spur economy

"Last month, the Treasury set up a unit to explore changes to the Bank's remit amid mounting political pressure for action to boost economic growth. Options include giving the Monetary Policy Committee greater time to bring inflation back to the 2pc target, handing the Bank a dual mandate to target both employment and inflation – similar to that of the Federal Reserve in America – or targeting spending in the economy rather than inflation. The Canadian central banker, who replaces Sir Mervyn King in July, has said that 'considerable monetary policy' is required to take up the slack in the British economy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAt BoE, Mark Carney could be handed powers to spur economy

Banking group warns there’s too much ‘easy money’ in global economy

"An influential group of leading world banks warned Thursday that central banks are pumping out too much easy money and markets risk becoming dangerously addicted to ultra-low interest rates. The Institute of International Finance, which groups 450 banks, said if central banks continue to flood money into the global economy then any future bid to get it under control could itself destabilize the financial system. 'These conditions — quantitative easing, very low interest rates — cannot last forever, but the risk is that financial markets have become addicted to them,' it warned." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBanking group warns there’s too much ‘easy money’ in global economy

The Filibuster in Two Minutes

"A decent compilation. Sen. Paul referenced at least two videos during his speech. Here are two of them. Progressive WH spokesman Gibbs says that the president should be free to murder children. And Lindsay Graham of the Great State of South Carolina declares the Fifth and Sixth Amendments null and void." Continue reading →

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Will Grigg: The Stalinist in the White House

"Until the filibuster staged by Senator Paul – who, despite his plentiful shortcomings, has proven that he has learned much from his heroic father – no Senate Republican had rejected the Stalinist premise that the President can order the summary execution of U.S. citizens. What about the Professional Left – the people who, like then-Senator Obama, were so agitated over the Bush administration’s crimes against the Bill of Rights? They’re too busy debating such weighty matters as the proper honorific by which to address the Dear Leader, or helping the Southern Poverty Law Center draw up 'kill lists' of domestic 'extremists.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: The Stalinist in the White House

U.S. Keeps Nuclear First-Strike Option [2010]

"The Obama administration will release a new national nuclear-weapons strategy Tuesday that makes only modest changes to U.S. nuclear forces, leaving intact the longstanding U.S. threat to use nuclear weapons first, even against non-nuclear nations. But the new policy will narrow potential U.S. nuclear targets, and for the first time makes explicit the goal of making deterrence of a nuclear strike the 'sole objective' of U.S. nuclear weapons, a senior Obama administration official said Monday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Keeps Nuclear First-Strike Option [2010]